Doomed to Die in 3 Minutes

Selling a Fight

I still have a few seconds left on the timer. I just have to stay alive and he won’t screw me over. He is standing tall above me while I’m on the ground. Can I live before he brings out a serious attack on me? He raises his sword above me. Its massive frame casts a shadow over my entire being. It’s a guillotine that cannot be stopped. I’m royally f****d. Maybe I should surrender…?

A clank. Agarde’s right knee buckles. His sword falls from his hand harmlessly to the right. His body slowly loses its strength and he falls back down right by my side. Oh, the good old, make the guy look like he’s won but then fake out play. I can’t believe this. I’ve been played several times. I feel his metal gauntlet hand come into contact with my foot and power begins to course through my entire body. “I won’t… let you win… so easily… evildoer…!” 

He’s making it look like he’s resisting even when he’s actually transferring energy to me. This is some quality entertainment right here. Even though the citizens can’t cheer for me in fear of retaliation, even though the knights that follow Agarde are not particularly fans of him, even with nobody saying a word, I can feel it. Their eyes are glued to the scene of the duel. Their hearts are beating with growing tension that could be cut with a knife. The air was thick with anticipation.

I’m loving this. “Dispel.” I let go of my doom spell. The unsettling sensation I felt early, I think it was my own lack of trust. As someone who fights with deception and was constantly acting out evil characters, trusting someone else, knowing when a person is honest and good, it becomes hard to follow that sense of faith you have. An instinct to trust clashes with the mind that tells you never to do so. I choose to pick my emotions. It’s been the latest trend in my life after all. Follow your heart! “Hey, let’s keep the show going a little longer.”

I spring back up to my feet and our positions are now reversed. I look down to Agarde and pull him up, seemingly to his surprise. “Our match is not yet over! Knight of the Hammer, would you be satisfied with just this? Show me everything you’ve got! I will only accept complete and utter decisive victory!” I can’t see his face but I know he’s smiling.

“You shall regret it!” It’s my turn to lead the show. “Howling Banshees!” I summon forth spectres much like the ones from the day before and make them scream in high pitched voices across the entire city. “These are the people who were killed by Phonom’s wickedness, I have given them form into this world once again! They shall be spirits of vengeance that will war with all those who wield their power unjustly. Let them be the judge of your souls!” They sing in a screeching unison caked with a lust for vengeance. At least that’s how I make it look.

Agarde puts his hands to his ears as if to block out the sound. The truth is it does nothing, so his fellow knights are confused almost immediately. “Focus your anger on the commander and him alone! Let us put his justice to the test!” Agarde moves forward while still covering his ears. He makes his voice known to all, a big booming command for order and authority.

“I hear your pain… but know this! Your wrath and rage will not surpass my convictions towards that which is true and righteous! My spirit will not break! Take this vile sorcerer!” Agarde throws a slow but heavy punch mixed with mana. I realise the shape it holds. He’s essentially firing a magical missile in the shape of a boomerang. I have to be quick on the uptake to adapt to adlibbing and improve. I find myself grinning. Birds of a feather born in a nest called theatre.

I return my hatchet to my inventory. I won’t be needing it for this. I throw a fast but weak punch, it’s the best I can do. The energy from Agarde’s fist hits the wall behind me, forming a massive crack and causing debris to fly into the skies and fall to the ground. The magic spins to time with my punch as it does the same to a building behind him replicating the same effect. I do think causing this collateral property damage is going to suck for the people living here but if they get to live in peace after this, I can accept that guilt and I think they can accept that cost.

I decide to cast some effects over us. I coat him in a shimmering golden aura and myself in a dark shade of violet. We begin to throw more punches at each other, occasionally diverting them with deflected moves and once in a while make it look like we’re hitting each other and recoiling when he throws a punch without any mana. “Rarrgghhhuuuughh!” We begin to scream and roar as we exchange a series of furious blows that lay waste to the area around us. The floor and walls near our clash begin to break apart as if an earthquake had arrived.

Make it look real. Make them believe the fantasy is reality. Look serious and with conviction. When you’re on the stage you are not whoever you are. You are the mask come to life.

The world begins to shatter as two titans battle for dominance.